AVP Ancient Warrior Predator Figure From NECA Review & Images

AVP Ancient Warrior Predator from NECA Toys Review by "Pixel Dan" Eardley



Series 15 of NECA Toys' long running Predator line gives us three figures out of the AVP film. Despite how you may feel about the movie itself, this wave brings us some of NECA's best Predator action figures to date. I may be jumping ahead of myself by saying that at the beginning of this review, but I really can't help myself. I was impressed immediately upon opening these figures.

Let's kick off our look at Series 15 with a review of the Ancient Warrior Predator, which happens to be a personal favorite figure of mine in this wave.



Packaging: The figure comes inside blister card packaging similar to what we've seen on NECA's recent Predator waves. It features a movie accurate look with the blue AVP logo across the bottom of the blister bubble, and a Predator helmet in the background behind the figure. The back gives us a description of the tribe featured in this wave along with a look at all three figure. The packaging is exactly the same across all three figures in this wave except for the figure name, and is overall very nice.



Sculpt and Paint: NECA always seems to bring it in the sculpting department, and their Predator figures have just gotten better and better with each passing year. Ancient Warrior is no exception. He features a lot of the usual details you'd expect on a Predator like the detailed scaly skin and the netting. But what really makes this particular Predator stand out to me is the mask and armor. The shape of the mask is aesthetically pleasing, with the flat nose piece and the little sculpted tech-looking parts on either side.

The same wonderful detailing can be seen int he wrist gauntlets, specifically on the left arm. This one has a nice opening panel that reveals a lot of great little details such as buttons and a screen. It's the little things that really make this figure stand out.

All of the great armor bits are painted with this really subtle metallic blue color that really makes him stand out. There's still a nice wash over it all that gives it a bit of a gritty feel, but that blue color really stands out in person and makes this whole figure just pop off your shelf.



Articulation: The figure features over 30 points of articulation, all of which is very tight on this figure. Some of the joints were a bit stuck, but worked out pretty easily. The elbows and knees both feature those ratchet joints that click a bit when moved, which helps them stay in place for posing. The figure also feels very sturdy, which I was quite pleased with. The plastic actually feels like it may be a bit stronger than some of the past figures from NECA Toys. I'm not sure if that actually is the case, but he definitely doesn't have a fragile feel which is a major plus.

Among the articulation you'll find a ball jointed head, ball jointed shoulders, bicep swivels, double jointed elbows, ball jointed wrists, ball jointed torso, waist swivel, ball jointed thighs, ball jointed knees, and ball jointed ankles. All of this articulation functions pretty well with a good range of movement, but worth noting is that in what has become a bit of a norm with NECA's Predators, the head movement is hindered by his shoulder canon.



Accessories: We typically get some pretty great accessories with our Predator figures, but the sheer number that series 15 comes with is impressive. Along with a slew of weapons, the Ancient Warrior comes with a few small none trophies that can be hung ff of the figure in various places. He's already sporting a bone trophy necklace, but it's always neat getting some extras like this.

Among the weapons, we have some usual pieces like the blade weapon, but we also have two spears (one short and one expanded), one knife, and his wrist blades. Even better is that along with being able to hold them, there's a place to store most of the weapons. There's a clip on his back that holds the spear, and a holster on his right calf that houses the knife.



The arm blades are done differently on this figure than we've seen in the past. They are separate pieces that can be clipped into slots on the left wrist brace if desired. They lock into place nicely, and are just as easy to remove. The neat thing about this feature is that NECA is billing this as customization tool between the three figures in this wave. Each comes with different wrist blades, and they all work across all three figures. In addition, you can swap the hands between figures if that is something you wish to do, since they are just on ball joints.

Ancient Warrior is a really solid action figure that features a really great sculpt, an awesome eye catching paint deco, and an impressive amount of accessories. Even though I have many various Predator action figures from NECA Toys, I found myself fascinated with this one after opening it. He's a ton of fun to pose around, and having all of those accessories really gives you multiple options for display. He also fits in wonderfully with the other figures in Series 15, and you can bet I'll be taking a look at those next.

Until next time!